Walking in Philly
Taking in the sights
Off the favorite parts
Touted by the Mayor and all of the entertainment celebs
Because some of the art
That isn’t dressed up in public funding
And private donations
Says more about the state of the city
Than any Picasso, Barnes collection, or Roots melody
Ever will

Cruising a back alley
Under the bustle of I-95
Where the weeds and abandoned trolley tracks
Are being transformed into hipster neighborhoods
Without the consideration of those already there
I see the struggle of those being pushed out and wonder how
The rest of the city is able to
Look so far away from the blight
That has grabbed the unfortunate
How is it that money can be so callous

Could it be that they have little to offer
Holding on to what they have
To pay the rent
To pay the gas and electricity
To try and grow with the rate that society is changing,
Only able to keep up with the perception
That they are the problem
And only they can be the solution
But they’ve learned there is no sense
In trying

Once hope is lost
The question of bother
Becomes one with a simple answer
Of why
Why try when nothing really changes
Why try when the ambitious come and take it all away
Why try when the power brokers won’t fund the schools
Plow the snow
Patrol the streets
Or put a grocery store in the neighborhood

So a graffiti tag
“Why Bother”
Is beautiful to me
Vibrant like the Sunflowers at the end of the Parkway
Where more money will be spent destroying the Rocky stairs
Than people in this neighborhood will earn in a lifetime
This simple tag should have the politicians
Posing in thought like the sculpture in the middle of the Parkway
And funding with Love to make improvements in the neighborhoods
Instead of just around the pet project areas